World Savers Awards 2012

What: Luxury safaris and tented camps and lodges straight out of Isak Dinesen.

Where: Africa and India.

Why: It has educated thousands of children and runs a community center in a slum.

When to Go: Game viewing is best during dry season: June–October in East Africa, April–October in South Africa. Book farther in advance to secure these months.

How to get there: Fly into Nairobi. Once on the safari, Micato organizes three to six flights for you—eliminating twenty hours of driving and providing incredible views.

Which Trip: “Safaris in East Africa and Botswana are more wildlife intensive,” says staffer Jessica Brida, “while those in South Africa have a more balanced view of African cities, wildlife, and landscapes.” Micato lets you customize a private safari experience.

What Not to Miss: If you’re in Nairobi, participate in Micato’s Lend a Helping Hand program. You’ll volunteer at the Harambee Community Center, creating “a bridge of information and exchange between cultures, “ says Brida.

Take a hot-air balloon ride over the Masai Mara at sunrise. You will have the rare chance to see nocturnal animals before they retire for the day—and end with a champagne breakfast upon touchdown.

Daily Micato safari to-do list: Sip English tea on lodge veranda—check. Spot cheetahs, lions, elephants, rhinos on afternoon game drive—check. Soak in bubble bath to remove veil of red dust—check. Send Kenyan child to school for 12 years—check. The last one? That’s thanks to Micato’s One for One model: For every safari booked, Micato educates one child all the way through high school. Thanks to the company, instead of giving haircuts in the slums of Kenya, Michael Etole, who could not have otherwise afforded the tuition, is studying mechanical engineering at Kenya Polytechnic. He also services the sewing machines at another Micato project—building skills he can use professionally (Kenya’s unemployment rate is 40 percent). So far, Micato has educated more than 4,000 children.

To celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of Micato-AmericaShare, which directs the company’s charitable work in Nairobi’s Mukuru and Kibera slums, Micato is donating the following on behalf of each safari traveler: one book to a Nairobi library; one “Huru Kit” (a collection of sanitary supplies to help keep girls from missing school); and a tree to the Nairobi GreenLine Project. Micato also donates a gallon of water for every gallon used by its guests.

Travelers can experience what Micato is doing, too, by visiting the Harambee Community Centre, a multi-purpose facility where children study in the libraries and play a computer game that teaches them how to avoid HIV infection (212-545-7111; itineraries from $7,040).